It's little things that make job a happy place

January 24, 2012|Greg Dawson - Working, Working

Most of us would say that job satisfaction depends largely on good wages and benefits, but quality of life in the workplace can be enhanced -- or nickel-and-dimed -- by a host of what may seem like minor issues.

Last week, for example, I found myself doing a victory dance in the Sentinel men's room (sorry, no You Tube video available). Asking around the office, I found that my co-workers were celebrating, too.

Gone was the seeing-eye paper towel dispenser that required the user to wave dripping hands at the box, as if casting a spell, before it would disgorge paper from its little fortress. When it did, the piece often was too long, more like a scroll, or a mini-sheet not big enough to dry a munchkin's hands.

In place of this pointless innovation was what was there before – a manual dispenser requiring no hocus-pocus, just a simple tug on the perfect-sized sheet hanging there at your disposal.

The incredibly annoying Cyclops dispenser had subtracted in a small but meaningful way from the quality of life in our workplace. And by bringing back your father's towel dispenser, the company had instantly added a scintilla of good karma to our collective mood. Thank you!

Now if they can just do something about the coffee vending machines that take my money and give me no coffee, or – even worse – coffee and no cup. There is no more helpless feeling than watching 60 cents of coffee stream straight into the drain. Not only have I lost money, I have hurt my hand on the side and front of the machine attempting to dislodge by 60 cents. On the machine is a notice: "If you have lost money in the vending machine, please see the cashier window in the main building." Too late – my serenity is shot.

Reflecting on a lifetime spent in offices, it occurs to me that hardware like towel dispensers, vending machines and funky heating-cooling systems are not the only factors in workplace bliss, or lack of it. The company owns the workplace hardware, but it's the workers who own the workplace experience through their myriad interactions during the course of the day, from cubicles and meeting rooms to hallways, break rooms and the cafeteria.

Take walking on the right. Too many people who drive on the right (I hope), walk on the left in the hallways. Why? At least once a week, I make a hard right turn around a corner and meet a co-worker coming the other way in the left lane, apparently trying to cut three seconds off their travel time. A couple of times this has ended with a spilled drink all over my shirt. Am I wrong to be upset?

Absolutely not, said Linnda Durre, a Winter Park psychotherapist, business consultant and author of Surviving the Toxic Workplace: Protect Yourself Against the Co-Workers, Bosses, and Work Environments That Poison Your Day. Such behavior displays "a lack of common courtesy and sensitivity," she said. "The narcissism that rules the planet today is staggering."

Durre gave some other examples of annoying habits that can degrade the work environment:

•Interrupting others when they are on deadline

•Humming, singing, tapping fingers or pencils

•Talking loudly on the phone so others can hear (Oops! Mea culpa.)

My list of continuing annoyances includes:

•Coin-counters in the lunch line: There are 12 people behind you juggling soup, salads and wraps while you count out $7.37.

•Birthday parties: Sorry, just not in the mood for singing and cake on deadline. Are we still 5?

•Abandoned cell on nearby desk playing "Copacabana."

I could go on, but I'm a happy workplace camper for now. I don't have to hypnotize the towel dispenser to dry my hands.